Endeavour was there but in the end we were beat up by harder bigger bodies in Chapman, Bartel, Corey, Enright, Scarlett and Co. We just don't have those guys with 6-10 pre seasons in them. When we do we will be ultra competitive. Anyone thinking this is a living in fantasy land posts only needs to

Think back to the day that a mature bodied Michael Voss crunched a young Joel Corey into the ground and snapped his collar bone. You would need a mack truck to snap Corey's collarbone these days!!

Endeavour great, top 10 picks in Rich and Polec really good at times.

Lester was excellent and Cornelius was doing a power of work off the ball.

Look forward to a competitive showing next week against the dons in slightly better conditions.

well said acuguy, we made lots of mistakes due to weather/geelongs pressure.
They tried hard, it will click in a few years.
loved rainesy, held his head high the whole match even with geelong giving it to him after the chin music to selwood.
I think banfield needs to go back to reserves for a month and macgrath forward.
Just to kick some goals, think he is feeling the pressure to perform, needs a break.
Crisp has some energy, love what he will offer the teamm in a year or so, but he needs to have a spell too.

Final note, why are so many of our ex players assistant coaches at rival clubs? Please lets start bringing a few home, imagine Nigel Lappin as a midfield coach and Leppitsch as a defensive coach. Would be a nice throwback to the old days as well as a fair bit of knowledge coming in. No offense to the current coaching group, as I'm confident we've got a good coaching group at the moment.

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I agree wholeheartedly with this. I'm sure they are probably settled in Victoria, with their families, but we should be doing as much as possible to convince these guys to return to Brisbane. Lappin in particular, would bring a wealth of knowledge from his time at Geelong.

Some things I take from it:
- I didn't expect to win last night, as I said to a mate who asked me about it yesterday 'it will be a case of boys v men'. At least the boys did have a crack.
- Yes I am a broken record but Merrett know needs to spend the rest of the season down back. The opportunity cost of playing him up forward is far too great for what we get out of it. That said he was horrible last night.
- Patty K needs to be constantly played in the seniors. Came on for just over a quarter & had 3 shots on goal - is a goal kicker & we have a dearth of these types. If the pattern remains he will be dropped next week.
- Combining the above 2 points. If we line up with a traditional 6 man forward that contains Merrett & Sheldon that is that is 33% of a forward line that does not have the ability to apply scoreboard pressure. It needs to be altered if we are to compete even with the middle of the road sides.
- Would still like to see Josh Green given an opportunity, even if just as a small forward. Has more to offer is so many areas than some currently being played. Pleasing to see appears to be playing this role well for periods in the Reserves.
- We had little composure & clean ball skills handling. Even something as basic as kicking. When Geelong had a shot on goal I had a feeling that they would convert with us I feared we would struggle to make the distance.
- The game was representative of where each playing list is at. It will be the games against the likes of Richmond, Port, Footscray, etc that will show as to whether we are improving.

So Hawkins instantly transforms from being one of the worst kicks for goal in the competition into a player that cannot miss in atrocious conditions.

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When Tomma was young, he was a BEAUTIFUL kick. He was a good player when he first came to AFL, then had two and a half shit years following that (probably something to do with confidence). Then Wayne Carey had a chat to Hawkins (coincidentally the week of the 2011 Brisbane game), gave him some tips and a bit of confidence and from then on he was a totally different player. Last year he took it to a different level vs Brisbane, I hope he just did it again

He finished last year with 27 goals. In 5 games this year, he has 18 goals.

Anyway, Tom is a real confidence kicker. He has a ton atm, he won't miss too much if it stays up.

Both while limited in what they maybe able to do have manfully stuck to there tasks over the last 2 weeks, and are providing great examples to the young guys as to levels of persistance/on field commitment required at this level.

Unfortunately I think it's time to start thinking about Banfield to. I said 12mths ago he just isn't a one touch player. Now it seems he's not even a 3 touch player. The boy just keeps fumbling, creating pressure on himself and ultimately his teammates when he runs out of time and screws up his disposals under pressure.

I thought early on the scoreboard didn't do our efforts justice, but then the sodas at the tail end of the game probably flattered us a little, so, I guess it evened itself out overall. *shrugs*

Oh, and footy smarts and footy skills are still desperately needed. Anyone got any they don't want?

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Our boys always seem under pressure and seem to fail at executing under pressure, especially in comparison to younger fellas coming through at other clubs. Could this have anything to do with the level of intensity and level of play in the QAFL compared to the other leagues?

I've just had it with Merrett playing up forward. I'm never one to question coaching tactics but the novelty has completely worn off. From where I see it he adds nothing up there. I don't care about spark or adding another target, it just isn't worth the loss to our defence. Oh yeah, and he can't kick to save his life, another reason...

And PLEASE play Karnezis from now on, I'll never figure that one out either. Probably something internal because every Lions supporter from the sideline wants to see him out there.

Unfortunately I think it's time to start thinking about Banfield to. I said 12mths ago he just isn't a one touch player. Now it seems he's not even a 3 touch player. The boy just keeps fumbling, creating pressure on himself and ultimately his teammates when he runs out of time and screws up his disposals under pressure.

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We need Banfield on the field IMO. His biggest asset is bursting away from traffic, which most of our midfield can't do. He was a terrier when up around HFF/wing last year, opposition players constantly fumbling with his presence around the corner. Even if he fumbles, he can tap his way out of congestion and use the burst speed when in the clear. He did it a few times last year. Needs more opportunities. Can't blame him when the ball barely reached our F50 against Freo, and yesterday's conditions were atrocious.

I agree with the suggestions on getting Green. I often wonder what role playing some of our current players are capable of (sorry sheldon), which Green can't do if given the chance.

Not going to hammer our blokes as I thought we fought it out right to the end even with a much lower skills base, size base etc.

Couple of things. The night training routine was an abject failure. Wet weather football 101: keep hands low, ball won't bounce, flatten out hands marking, head over ball and most importantly KISS.

Was asked what effect Harvey had had: my response- zip. Maybe he is keeping his distance for selfish reasons.

I give you leaving Merrett at FF until the game was gone. A serious question- why?? Was Red kicking goals? No. Was he getting the pill? Was he having a 'presence'? No.

This one strategy has had the dual effect of 1) significantly contributing to us losing the game and 2) a complete loss of form and confidence to Merrett.

Took great heart from Raines' and Crisp's efforts.

Wasn't it great to see Rockliff taking on 2 much bigger Cat thugs. Should be shown at every team meeting.

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I think we can't write off the night training after a single episode, especially in such ridiculous conditions as last night. I think it's going to have to be long term initiative to see any benefit. I definitely agree with the rest of your post - shame that the press already seem to be calling out Raines for hitting Selwood, ignoring the fact that it's a retaliation.

I think we can't write off the night training after a single episode, especially in such ridiculous conditions as last night. I think it's going to have to be long term initiative to see any benefit. I definitely agree with the rest of your post - shame that the press already seem to be calling out Raines for hitting Selwood, ignoring the fact that it's a retaliation.